Children of Labor: A Finnish-American History

Featured at the 1977 New York Film Festival, Children of Labor is the story of how Finnish immigrants came into contact — and conflict — with industrial America. Three generations of Finnish-Americans recount how they coped with harsh realities by creating their own institutions: churches, temperance halls, socialist halls, and cooperatives.

The film focuses on the people, their organizations, and the challenges posed by both McCarthy-era political repression and present-day Home Useism. At the same time, Children of Labor deals with questions that reverberate in the lives of most Americans, especially the sons and daughters of immigrants.